


A Strange Partnership

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cancer, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Gerry is a millennial and therefore enjoys memes, Keeping Promises, Seizures, bamf Gerry, bamf Gertrude, having to look at several wiki pages to track the timeline means that some details might be off, just pretend that they're not though lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: "Gertrude pursed her lips as she looked at the man in front of her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she’d been expecting, but whatever it was, it hadn’t been… this. But she had made a deal with Eric, and Gertrude wasn’t one to go back on her word."The adventures of Gertrude and Gerry from their first meeting to their last.
Relationships: Gerard Keay & Gertrude Robinson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	A Strange Partnership

Gertrude pursed her lips as she looked at the man in front of her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she’d been expecting, but whatever it was, it hadn’t been… this. She had not been expecting to see a fully grown man wearing too-tight pants, and with more piercings than he could get through a cheap metal detector with. The long leather jacket with multiple buckles and straps had also not been a part of her mental image.

But she had made a deal with Eric, and Gertrude wasn’t one to go back on her word (unless there was something greater to be gained by breaking a promise). She cleared her throat, even though she was the only other person on the street, and his attention had been on her for the past minute. “Good afternoon. My name is Gertrude Robinson. And you’re Mr. Keay, right?”

The man blinked once, and then flicked aside the cigarette he’d been in the middle of smoking, stomping down on it with his heavy looking boots. “You know exactly who I am, and I know who you are. Let’s not play pretend with each other.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the brick wall behind him. “Well, I can think of all too many reasons the Archivist might track me down. So ask your questions.”

Gertrude found her polite smile freeze into something altogether more frigid at the mention of her official job title, and she forced herself to relax. “Very well. I’m not here to interrogate you though. I was sent by your father. He asked me to look after you… Gerry.” She knew that the nickname would be enough to gain at least a little bit of trust from him. People were just too easy, in the end. “I heard that you have a bit of a problem with an overbearing mother. I can help you with that.”

Gerry narrowed his eyes. “And why would you want to do that? Because my father asked you to? Or because you think you can benefit from the book?”

“There’s a lot of evil in this world, Gerry,” she started slowly. “I just want to do my part to help, same as you. I know you could never escape from the life your mother wanted for you, so you’ve been doing everything in your power to protect people for as long as you could. But isn’t it so exhausting to go about it alone? I believe that you and I could both greatly benefit from working together.”

There was a long moment of silence, and then Gerry reached into his pocket to pull out a fresh cigarette, though he didn’t light it or lift it to his mouth. “You know, you’re older than I was expecting. Of course it makes sense, since you and Mary were about the same age, but all the stories I’ve heard make it difficult to imagine you being so old.”

“At least I don’t try to hide it,” Gertrude said pointedly as she looked at Gerry’s entire outfit, and the slightly fading black dye in his hair. 

Instead of getting offended by the slight, Gerry just laughed, and reached up to run a hand through his hair. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. Much easier to hit someone out of nowhere when they’re not expecting it to be the little old lady they need to fear.” There was another pause, and then Gerry pulled out a lighter with the initials G.D. etched onto it. He used it to light up his cigarette, and took a long drag of it before continuing. “I’m not going to follow you to my death. I’m not like your little assistant, so eager to walk into the jaws of a monster just because you pointed the way.”

He spoke in a nonchalant way, as if it was common for him to speak with people he was all but accusing of murder. Perhaps it was. But he was intelligent, and that was generally more useful than blind loyalty. “Together, you and I could save the world,” she offered.

Gerry scoffed. “I doubt it. But hell, there’s really no reason not to at least try. Especially if you can really get my mother off my back. So what do we need to do first?”

Even though she’d approached him with the intention of gaining an ally, Gertrude couldn’t help feeling as though she’d somehow gotten more than that. She gave Gerry a small smile as she made a mental inventory of what they’d need to do to get rid of Mary Keay for good. And she couldn’t help wondering if Mary had somehow accidentally raised her son to be good.  
,,,

It was awkward between the two of them at first, since there was very little trust to be had on either side. But after they took down a particularly nasty couple (a woman from Corruption and a woman from the Flesh who were grossly in love and also created some of the grossest sights in the world), Gertrude absent-mindedly reached out to pat Gerry’s shoulder and tell him ‘good job’. He was the one who had realized that the two were working together, not fighting against each other.

Gertrude immediately pulled her hand away once she realized what she’d done, and neither of them looked at each other as they got back into the car. They drove along in silence for a little while, until Gerry spoke, though he continued to stare out the window instead of looking at Gertrude. “It’s been a long day. Maybe we should stop for drinks.”

Gertrude generally preferred not to drink these days, both because it made her vulnerable to the many dangerous things out there, and because it didn’t always mix well with some of her medications, but she accepted the peace offering for what it was, and nodded wordlessly. She pulled over at the next pub they passed, since neither of them knew the area well enough to make a better recommendation, and she certainly wasn’t going to use the Eye just to figure out what the best pub in town was.

As they stepped inside, a waitress hopped over to them. “Good evening! Welcome to the-”

“Two seats at the bar,” Gertrude interrupted. Gerry gave her a disapproving look for her rudeness, but she ignored it. 

The waitress’ smile faded as she led them over to the bar, and they sat down. Once they were actually there, it became pretty clear that neither of them were really in the mood to drink. Though Gerry ended up getting dragged into a bet with some locals, where Gertrude watched with amusement as he drank all of them under the table. 

After the long string of drunken congratulations had been given, Gerry stumbled back over to the bar, where Getrude had nursed the same beer all night. “‘D’jyou see that?” he slurred out. “Another vic’try to add to our record.”

Gertrude laughed, and felt something suspiciously warm build up in her chest, and she quickly excused herself to head to the restroom. She hadn’t eaten anything particularly risky that day, but her body was getting old and that came with all kinds of issues. Though other than food, she couldn’t think of what had caused that feeling. 

While she was gone, Gerry struggled to pull enough bills out of his wallet to cover his tab, and some extra cash to be given to the waitress as an apology for Gertrude’s behavior. The bartender took the money, and then looked up at Gerry with a small smile. “Your mum is a hell of a woman. If even half the things she said were true, then she’s honestly my hero.”

Gerry blinked a few times in confusion, and then looked around, as if Mary had just appeared behind him without any warning. Not that he’d be terribly surprised if she did, considering what he knew of the world, but Gertrude had assured him that the problem had been dealt with, and he believed her.

He turned back to the bartender, but before he could voice his confusion about the ‘mum’ comment, Gertrude returned. Gerry waved goodbye, and then let himself lean against the woman so that he wouldn’t trip and fall as he staggered outside. “This was fun.”

“Lucky for you that I’m the designated driver. Now get in and buckle yourself up before you make an even bigger nuisance of yourself.”

Gerry laughed as he saluted her. “Yes ma’am.” He kept laughing as Gertrude started the car, though it only took a few minutes for him to drift off to sleep. Gertrude couldn’t help occasionally glancing over at him. He slept so quietly that she needed to reassure herself that he was still breathing. Because he was useless to her if he was dead, of course.  
,,,

Perhaps Gertrude was getting senile in her old age, because she found herself making silly mistakes that could have been easily avoided. All her years of working in the Institute and stopping rituals and putting down monsters and she almost got done in by a cold of all things.

Well, it was probably the Desolation avatar that would have actually killed her, but it would have only been because of a cold. Gertrude had insisted that she could move perfectly fine despite it, but she shivered at just the wrong moment. She would have been burned to a crisp, but Gerry threw his arm up between Gertrude and the other avatar, and didn’t react at all as a handprint was burned right through his jacket sleeve and into his arm. 

While the avatar was distracted, Gertrude was able to whip out the fire extinguisher she’d brought along, and released the entire thing on the Desolation avatar. The woman stumbled back with a loud howl of pain, and then Gertrude kicked the fallen woman in the head to knock her out.

With that taken care of, Gertrude was able to focus on Gerry. “Let me see that,” she demanded, already tearing at the singed hole in his jacket. She winced on his behalf when she saw the angry, blistering skin. “Perhaps a hospital…?”

Gerry shook his head. “I’m fine.” There was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, but that was the only sign of the massive amount of pain that he surely had to be feeling from his injury. 

They dragged the Desolation avatar back to the car, but then hesitated. If she woke up while in the trunk, she would undoubtedly turn the vehicle into a death trap and roast them all alive. Normally, Gertrude preferred not to use the powers that had been gifted to her by the Eye, for various reasons. But Gerry looked like he was moments away from passing out, and dragging along the unconscious avatar would only escalate the situation.

She heaved out an annoyed sigh, and then grabbed a water bottle from the back seat to pour over the avatar’s head. It took a moment, but then the young woman woke up with a few choked splutters, immediately followed by all kinds of creative sounding swears and death threats. Maybe if Gertrude didn’t already understand the full scope of the Desolation’s power, she might actually be intimidated. As it was, she just stared down at the avatar with her signature unimpressed look. “I’m looking for a ritual. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?” She made sure to imbue her voice with enough compulsion to get answers.

The other avatar screwed up her face and spat at Gertrude’s feet. “Oh fuck you. You know that Agnes is dead. Going on six years now, and it’s all your fault.”

“Is it?” Gertrude asked mildly. “Well, fortunately for us both, it is not your twisted attempt at a messiah that I am looking for. I’ve heard rumors that the circus was in town.”

The avatar let out a bitter laugh. “Why the hell would I help you with anything?”

Gertrude shrugged one shoulder, and when she glanced at Gerry, she had to admit that despite his choice in fashion, just the fact that he was still standing tall and strong was somewhat intimidating. She looked back at the avatar, and offered up a polite smile. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what it means if the Stranger completes their ritual before any of us can. And of course, don’t forget that I can simply make you tell me anything I want to know. I’d prefer to spare you the humiliation, but that’s a courtesy that I’m under no obligation to maintain.”

She got a scowl in return, but then a begrudging answer. “Last I heard, the freak show hopped the pond.”

Gertrude gave a small nod of appreciation. “Thank you.” Then she kicked the avatar in the head again, once again knocking the woman unconscious. She left the woman on the ground as she got into the car, and motioned for Gerry to do the same. “Let’s get a little further away from here, and then I’ll take a look at your arm.”

“We’re just going to leave her?” It wasn’t asked in the tone of a man thirsty for blood, but rather a man who was simply curious about Gertrude’s decision. 

For a moment, an image of her late assistant flashed through her mind, always so eager to follow her lead, and always so certain that he needed to protect her. He was gone now, of course, as were so many others who had perished for the sake of the world. Gertrude was perfectly willing and able to sacrifice as many people as she needed if it meant saving more than she lost. But there was no use in a pointless death. “We don’t have time to deal with her,” she answered in a tone that was clearly meant to shut down the conversation.

“Right.” Just from his voice, Gertrude could tell that Gerry didn’t believe her. When had they gotten close enough that he could understand her so well? It was disconcerting to think about, so she simply chose not to. “Anyways, does this mean we’re off to the States?”

Gertrude nodded, glad for the change in subject. “Yes. I haven’t been there in a few years. I was looking for the Buried at the time, but nothing panned out back then. You know, for all that Americans seem to think that they’re the center of the universe, there’s hardly anything interesting happening there at all.”

Gerry snorted. “You think they’re inferior for not having unknowable entities of fear trying to crash into the world?”

“Oh, they’ve still been affected by the fears. They just have no motivation to follow through with any of the rituals. Probably for the best. There’s far too much empty space to look through there.”  
Gerry frowned, though it was hard to tell at a glance whether it was in pain or thought. “Yeah, speaking of, where are we even supposed to start looking without anything more specific than an entire continent? I mean, we’re just assuming that she meant America. Could be Canada, though.”

“There is a place in China, the Pu Songling Research Center. Once we are in America, I can send for some statements from them, to see if they have anything that might be relevant to us.” She was too old and too wise to offer any useless platitudes about how they were guaranteed to succeed, but more importantly, she knew that Gerry wouldn’t believe it. How strange it was that she knew that about him.  
,,,

The research center sent Gertrude two statements that seemed like they might be of use, though unfortunately neither of them were nearly as helpful as she had hoped. It was a good thing, then, that Gertrude had never relied on hope to get her through the day. She might not have an exact location yet, but at least she could remain content in the knowledge that she had a plan. Or at least a storage locker full of explosives, which was about as much of a plan as she needed these days.

She looked up from the statements when she heard the rough sound of Gerry’s laughter, which seemed to happen far too rarely. She arched one eyebrow, and waited for him to explain what was funny. Gerry gave her a long, considering look, and then he got up from where he’d been perched on the edge of ‘his’ bed, and dropped a magazine on the table in front of Gertrude. 

Gertrude scanned over the page, which showed a few ads, as well as an unlabelled photograph of a fence with one of its posts fallen over. She furrowed her eyebrows as she peered up at Gerry. “I’m sorry, but I fail to see the amusement here.”

That only made Gerry laugh louder, though Gertrude found it difficult to be annoyed when something was clearly bringing him such joy. “It’s loss.”

He said that like it was supposed to have some sort of meaning, but Gertrude found that she still didn’t understand. Which was something of a novelty for her, really. “Excuse me?”

Gerry grinned as he picked the magazine back up, and it didn’t escape Gertrude’s notice that the cover clearly showed it to be the type of thing aimed towards teenage girls. “It’s a meme,” he tried to explain. When Gertrude didn’t respond- because really, what was she supposed to say to that? Gerry’s eyes widened. “You don’t know what a meme is?”

She wasn’t sure why it even mattered, but for a moment, Gertrude considered Knowing so that she wouldn’t be made a fool of. But she barely liked to use her power for good reason, let alone anything so frivolous, and she just rolled her eyes. “Enjoy your _memes_ then.” She could still hear Gerry laughing behind her as he walked away, and even though she’d never admit to such a thing, Gertrude could feel a small smile curl up on her face at the sound of the almost boyish joy that he got out of that seemingly inane photograph.  
,,,

Gerry held out one of the two sandwiches he’d just retrieved with a highly exaggerated flourish, and Gertrude accepted it with a feigned reluctance. “We’re not here for fun,” she reminded him. Though when Gerry’s face drooped slightly, Gertrude couldn’t help feeling almost guilty for reminding him of their purpose. 

But it was too late to bring back that playful mood, at least for the moment, so Gertrude settled for taking a bite of her sandwich. Not worth flying across the ocean for, but passable enough. She and Gerry resumed walking while they ate in silence, though Gerry paused mid step after a few minutes.

Gertrude glanced back to see what had caught Gerry’s attention, only to see him drop his unfinished sandwich and collapse to the ground, seizing violently, and he looked as though he were a giant puppet with his strings being yanked around. Gertrude dropped her sandwich as well as she knelt down next to the man (even though her knees weren’t what they used to be and sent a pang through her legs at the sudden motion). 

Even though they were best off lying low, Gertrude was hardly a medical expert, and she snapped at the nearest passerby to call for an ambulance. Soon enough she was riding in the back of the noisy vehicle as several paramedics tried to figure out what was wrong. They barraged Gertrude with questions- Does he have any allergies? Has this happened before? Is he epileptic? etc, and Gertrude pulled on the knowledge of the Eye to find the answers that were needed.

Once they reached the hospital, Gertrude was shunted off to the side while Gerry was carted away behind a set of heavy metal double doors. She sank down into an uncomfortable plastic chair, and tried to scold herself for the way that her heart was pounding. Sure, she’d made a promise to Eric, and sure, Gerry was a smart young man good for talking out theories with, but he wasn’t necessary to any of Gertrude’s plans. So why did it feel like it would be so terrible if something was seriously wrong with Gerry?  
,,,

She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting in the waiting room before a doctor finally emerged. “Are you Gerard’s mother?” Gertrude blinked once, and then just nodded. If she didn’t, they probably wouldn’t be able to give her any information. The doctor let out a small sigh. “I’m afraid that I have some bad news. It would seem that Gerard has a brain tumor, and it seems to already be at quite an advanced stage. I don’t believe that it is possible to operate on it at this point.” Gertrude gasped sharply, and sank back down into the chair. The doctor hesitated before flipping a page in his clipboard. 

“Have there been any symptoms in the past few months? Frequent headaches, changes in behavior, trouble walking, dizziness, fatigue?”

Gertrude thought back, but nothing stood out. Then again, Gerry always seemed to think that it was necessary to hide his pain from the world, and she was struck with the awful thought that he had been suffering for months without saying a word. She silently shook her head.

There was a sympathetic look on the doctor’s face, but Gertrude knew that he didn’t truly mean it. To him, death was sad but something to be moved on from immediately, and he did not want to feel the pain that his patients’ families did, so he blocked it inside of himself. “The options at the moment are rather limited, Mrs. Keay, and-”

“Robinson,” Gertrude interrupted without even thinking. “Ms. Robinson.”

The doctor blinked once, then continued on. “My best estimate is that he’s got a few months left, if that. We can do everything in our power to make him more comfortable until then-”

Gertrude shook her head, already well aware of how much Gerry would hate to be stuck lying around in a hospital for the rest of his life. “In the end it’s up to him, but I’m almost certain that he’ll choose to check himself out. He’s never been very good at staying still.”

The doctor frowned. “Well, when he wakes up I’ll explain the situation to him. Sometimes people react to this kind of news differently than you would expect.” He nodded towards the double doors he had emerged from. “Come on, I’ll take you to sit with him.”

Gertrude followed the doctor down several long and confusing hallways that almost made her worry she’d been swallowed by the Distortion, but then they reached their destination, and Gertrude stepped inside. Gerry was lying unconscious under the crisp white hospital sheets that looked so strange in comparison to his usual clothes, and his hair looked flat and dull.

Gertrude hesitated for a moment, then reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. He wasn’t even thirty-five years old yet, but there were already streaks of gray showing from underneath the bad dye job. Then Gertrude sat down in the just slightly more comfortable visitor's chair, and waited impatiently for Gerry to wake up.  
,,,

In the end, Gertrude was right, and Gerry insisted on checking himself out of the hospital as soon as possible. The doctors all made him sign papers saying that if he dropped dead it wasn’t their fault because they hadn’t recommended the discharge, but he seemed unconcerned by the situation. 

When Gertrude tried to delicately bring up the topic, or at least as delicately as she was capable, Gerry brushed it aside. She accepted his decision to not talk, and didn’t push for information. Perhaps that was strange behavior from the Archivist of the Eye, but Gerry was more than just a source of pain and information. 

The two of them continued to travel around for several weeks in search of where the Unknowing would take place, and they used Pittsburg as a central point so that they wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of constantly checking in to new motels every few days.

They were chased on a couple of occasions, and did the chasing on a couple of others, and Gerry acted the same as he always had. He even insisted on continuing to smoke, saying that it could hardly make things worse, and Gertrude had to concede that point. 

But Gerry had been living on borrowed time, and both of them had known it. Gerry had another seizure, this time in his sleep, and when the ambulance arrived, the looks on the paramedics’ faces told Gertrude everything she needed to know. 

The thought of Gerry just being gone forever hurt more than Gertrude cared to admit. She’d always been so careful to never get attached, so that she would never have to worry about the people around her, but Gerry had forced his way into whatever remnants of a heart Gertrude had left. 

Even as she retrieved the book, Gertrude knew that it was the wrong thing to do. And yet she did it anyways. She broke into the morgue and found Gerry’s body, scalpel and book both at the ready. Gertrude wasn’t ready to lose Gerry, not yet anyways. 

So she put him into the book that had held both of his parents at one point or another, and then when all was said and done and she was ready to return home, she made sure to bring the book with her.  
The first time that she summoned Gerry felt just as strange as when she’d summoned Eric, but Gerry had just given her a small smile. “Does it hurt?” she couldn’t help but ask. Eric had said that it hurt, and Gertrude hated the idea of Gerry being in pain, but she hated the idea of saying goodbye to Gerry even more.

“Not at all,” he told her, and they both knew that it was a lie. But it was a lie that gave them more time to spend together, to get to know each other. 

Gerry couldn’t have known which day would be the last that he would ever see Gertrude, but he somehow managed to pick that day to tell her something he had been thinking for a while. “I wish that you could’ve been my mum.”

Gertrude’s eyes widened, and she felt herself start to tear up. “Don’t be daft,” she scolded, but she couldn’t hide the fondness in her voice that always came out around Gerry. “There’s no man in the world who would have been good enough for me.” They both laughed, and Gertrude hoped that Gerry understood what he really meant. He probably did, since he seemed to know her better than anyone else ever had. 

The words that Gertrude never got the chance to speak aloud were the ones that said something she had also been thinking about for years. That she thought of Gerry as her son, and wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
